The present invention comprises of a new and distinct variety of petunia, botanically known as Petunia hybrida f. cv., and hereinafter referred to by the variety name ‘SAKPET097.’ ‘SAKPET097’ is characterized by flowers which open dark violet and mature to light lavender plum with a mounding plant habit. Petunia variety ‘SAKPET097’ originated from a hybridization in Kakegawa, Japan in 2009. The female parent was an unnamed proprietary petunia breeding line (unpatented) having a blue and white star-patterned bicolored flowers and a semi-mounding plant habit. The male parent was an unnamed proprietary petunia breeding line (unpatented) having rose pink flowers and a creeping plant habit.
In June 2009, two breeding lines were crossed, female line ‘PCB-1’ and male line ‘6Bcr-135a-2a’ and 100 seeds were obtained. In February 2010 100 seeds were sown and 30 plants were cultivated. The plants had flower colors of blue and white star-pattern, rose and white star pattern, light magenta and magenta with plant habits of creeping, semi-creeping and semi-mounding. In June 2010, 2 plants were crossed and approximately 1,500 seeds were obtained. One plant had a blue and white star-pattern with a semi-creeping plant habit. The other plant had a magenta and white star-pattern with a mounding plant habit. In November 2010, 1,000 seeds from the F2 plants were sown and cultivated for evaluation. In March 2011, a plant line was selected within the F2 plants that had flowers that open dark violet and mature to a light lavender plum and a mounding plant growth habit. The selection was named ‘L2011-249’. From February through March 2011 the selection was evaluated for day length neutral flowering response in Salinas, Calif. In March 2011, ‘L2011-249’ was first vegetatively propagated and cultivated in Salinas, Calif., and in May 2011 transplanted to the field for outdoor evaluation. From June 2011 to October 2011, and in January 2012, the breeder confirmed that line ‘L2011-205’ was fixed and stable. The line was subsequently named ‘SAKPET097’ and its unique characteristics were found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via vegetative cuttings.